House Judiciary Committee Launches Investigation Into Corporate Suppression of ‘Disfavored Platforms’

A Coca-Cola logo is seen in a restaurant in Washington on May 1, 2016. Karen Bleier/AFP via Getty Images

The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee launched an investigation into two corporations for potential violation of antitrust laws related to demonetizing “disfavored platforms.”

Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) sent letters to James Quincey, chief executive officer of The Coca-Cola Company, and Mr. David Hardy, chief executive officer of Orsted, a renewable energy company.

In the letters, Mr. Jordan requested that the two companies surrender documents and communications with the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) through its Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) beginning in 2019.

The two companies “may be acting inconsistent with U.S. antitrust laws and congressional intent by coordinating with GARM members’ efforts to eliminate online content,” Mr. Jordan said.

“The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast and Elon Musk’s X are the two “disfavored” platforms that have allegedly been demonetized through coordination with GARM to “eliminate content online,” Mr. Jordan said.

“Coca-Cola’s membership in GARM places Coca-Cola in a position to use GARM’s collective power to demonetize disfavored platforms and voices,” Mr. Jordan stated.

“Evidence obtained by the Committee suggests that Coca-Cola used its membership to coordinate with other GARM members regarding decisions about what platforms and content creators should not receive advertising money from GARM’s members,” he continued.

“The ability to threaten a platform or content creator with a potential withdrawal of advertising spending by GARM members can have the effect of influencing platform decision making or silencing certain viewpoints.”

Mr. Jordan cited the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, a federal statute prohibiting attempts to restrict interstate commerce and marketplace competition.

Under that Act, the companies’ coordinated actions could be deemed illegal, he said.

“Coca-Cola’s actions are particularly concerning and require oversight due to the severity of the harm caused by GARM’s collusive conduct,” Mr. Jordan said.

“For example, coordinating decisions among GARM members can materially restrict the information and content that American consumers can obtain online. Consumers are potentially deprived of a diverse offering of viewpoints and platforms due in part to advertising investment being steered away from the platforms that GARM disfavor,” he added.

Mr. Jordan alleged that there is evidence suggesting that Orsted used its GARM membership to have advertising funding pulled from X after Mr. Musk took over the social media platform.

Questioning of Narrative Prompts Calls for Censorship

Both Joe Rogan and Mr. Musk have faced criticism for giving a platform to voices that run contrary to the government-ordained narrative.

In 2021, there were calls for “The Joe Rogan Experience” to be pulled from Spotify after Mr. Rogan interviewed Dr. Peter McCullough and Dr. Robert Malone. Both brought into question the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines and policies.

In a letter to Spotify, 270 medical professionals, scientists, professors, and communicators called for Mr. Rogan’s cancellation based on the allegation that he was spreading COVID-19 misinformation.

Mr. Rogan admitted that he didn’t take the vaccine and had treated himself with the controversial drug Ivermectin when he contracted COVID-19.

Musician Neil Young pulled his music from Spotify in protest, only to return two years later because of what became a limited availability to his streaming content.

‘Twitter Files’

Mr. Musk has faced continued criticism since acquiring the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, now called X, where he changed the policies to make it what many have celebrated to be more of a space for free speech.

In 2023, the Republican-majority House voted to create the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, chaired by Mr. Jordan, after the 2022 release of a 1,000-page report detailing whistleblower testimony about alleged politicization of the Department of Justice and the FBI.

One of the subcommittee’s most significant investigations was into the “Twitter Files,” which highlighted how certain elements in the federal government colluded with Big Tech companies like Twitter, YouTube, and Meta to censor information that didn’t align with the government’s preferred narrative when it came to COVID-19 policies such as mask mandates, lockdowns, and vaccine mandates, in addition to questions about election integrity.

In 2022, Louisiana’s then-Attorney General (now governor) Jeff Landry and Missouri’s then-Attorney General (now senator) Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration. They alleged exactly what the Twitter Files later exposed: an attempt by the federal government to act as a gatekeeper of information on social media, thereby controlling the dominant narrative in public discourse.

The Epoch Times contacted The Coca-Cola Company, Orsted, and GARM for comment.

Katabella Roberts contributed to this report.